A Samian Summer – Samos Island, Greece

There’s something magical about travelling by ferry between Greek Islands. All discontented thoughts about cold floors and sleepless nights disperse as you pass islands and sail by white beachs, towering cliffs and quaint blue and white villages. At each stop, as the jetty nears, passengers look down at the expectant faces of people on the dock waiting to catch sight of loved ones freshly pressed from Athens. Smiles break out, waves are exchanged and children jump up and down in excitement as families and friends catch sight of each other.

Samos Island is unusual in that it is a working island and therefore does not rely totally on tourists for its income. It has a branch of Athens university based in Karvalossi, a thriving wine industry and exports olive oil and honey and still has a fishing industry . It is one of the greenest Greek Islands and has not as yet been discovered by the partying hoards of Europe. Seasoned hikers tend to be the main visitors and can enjoy challenging treks across the island in reasonable solitude.

For me, the best time to visit the island is in Spring or Autumn when the temperatures are bearable, fire risks lower, tourists few and far between and the light amazing for photography. This is a place that has it all, mountains, disused monestaries, sweeping views, lively village squares, limpid azure water. The only thing that it’s short on is ancient ruins and sandy beaches (mainly pebble). But it’s only a short hop on a ferry to Turkey if there is a burning need to take in some historical sights.

It was fantastic to see your photos of Samos. I never got there, but have very vivid memories of Samos for another reason: a little skirmish between Greece and Turkey (over Cyprus, I suppose, no SMS or internet those days, and by the time we got back to Herald Tribune country, it no longer seemed important to find out). My (ex)husband and I had been enjoying an idyllic week or so, camping in the national park just across the water in Turkey (right there, right across the bay from your pebbly beach). I woke to the sound of gunfire, I knew it was gunfire, I’d heard it in movies, on TV. Nudged awake, he grunted that it couldn’t be, and rolled over, straight to sleep again. Me? Every fibre was alert, and increasingly terrified, surrounded by unrecognised sounds in the blackness of night, until, in the predawn gloom, I saw the muzzle of a gun slowly insinuate itself through the slightly open van door. I wasn’t as surprised as he was, though:) Isn’t it fantastic how pictures can revive memories?

It looks fantastic, actually I spent a lovely holiday there about 8 years ago, it was really fabulous and I had the privilege of having my friend (Nina) who is a guide there show me around, so it was fantastic holiday.

Unfortunately now I am being held in Bahrain, on a travel ban since 2009, and cannot go anywhere. I had business that failed and they have stopped me from leaving but also stopped me from earning here -so a real Catch 22. I have just started by own blog to try to get the word out of the complete injustice of such a scenario. The Foreign Secretary Mr William Hague, has know about this since Nov 2010, but has not been able to resolve this. Human Rights Watch USA, know about it and made a statement on their website in December 2011 also, but no resolution.

I would appreciate if you would stop by my blog ‘Freedomseekersdotme’ and read about my plight and publicize it to anyone you can think of that could make others of influence aware. I am British, and single woman and have been stopped from earning here – it is hard to survive.